Liquid-raising apparatus.



f UNITED STATES PATEM- OEErOE.

GEORGER.' YOUNG, kOr RIDGEWOOD,

NEIN J ERSEY, AND CLIFFORD SHAW,

` 'OFNEW' YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TO BACON AIR LIFT COMPANY, A COR- rORAriON OF NEW JERsEr.

.To a/ LZ whom z5-may concern: VBe it known that we, GEORGE R. YOUNG,

residing at Rid ewood, State of New Jersey,

and .CLIFFORD S city, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Liquid- -Raising Apparatus, of. which the following-is HAW, residing at New York a description, which with the accompanying drawingstogether form this specification.

This is a division oi our application filed February 1 1899, Serial No. 704,104.

In United vStates `Letters Patent No.

592,037, -granted tous October 19, 1897, is

l disclosed a means for the separation of the I5' Iwater-raising system. This invention forms air from the waterl in a so-called air-lift in part an improvement on the device shown therein.

In this water-raising system air is forced intofthe lower portion of a column of Water in an uptake-pipe. The air risino' in bubbles of course diminishes the weight oia the column I of water in the pipe,- causing it to rise to a higherlevel and to overflow on reaching the top of the uptake.

-scribed in the patent above referred to the In the improvement dewater is to obviate the troubles which arise in delivering the mixed air and water through a horizontal pipe, because in such a pi e'the air instead or remaining in small bubb es accum'ulates in quantity and gives trouble. Of

course, however, if lthc water is to be deliv-- ered to a pointat a higher level than the mouthof the uptake-pipe and of the separating-chamber a static pressure must bemaintained inthe chamber suflcicnt for the purpose of forcing the water to the' higher evel or else pumping apparatus or auxiliary devices must be employed.

The object or this invention is the con- 4 struction oi' van apparatus by which the air may be separated from the water at the head speeineation of Ltte'rs Patent.

Original application liled February ll, 1899, Serial No. 7049104. l-)ivided and this application illed l serial N0.,9o,292.

Patented July 31, 190e.A January 18,1902.

ofthe uptake-pipe under a suiicient head to cause-the delivery of the water without aeration to the iinal level, and yet at the same time there will result no loss of efliciency, as by the escape into the atmosphere of lthe compressed air in the separator,.but, on the contrary, an increased economy inv the cost .of operation, in the' size .of the air-compressors required, and in the general construction and operation of the system.

excess of atmospheric 'pressure to give the desired force or head in' the separator and in fthe water-discharge pipe leading from .the separator. The air' under 4pressure and at the cool temperature of the well-waterv is returned to the aircompressor and after being compressed to the amount required to force it down intothe well and into the uptakepipe in the Well is delivered to the foot of the Brieiiy stated, he invention consists in its uptake-pipefaiidthence rises with the, water in the uptake-'pipe to and into the separater, where it separates from the water and recommences its cycle. The air is subjected to an approximatelyadiabatic compression and'ito isothermal expansion in the cool water of the well and is always at a pressure whicli'is greater than atmospheric. Thus a new and improved economy in the system is.

obtained Gas at increasing pressure' becomes proportionatelyless com. ressible in the sense that, for example, a vo ume of gas under pressure oi' two atmospheres 'can be compressed under, say, ten pounds increase of pressure tol only one-half as much as the same volume of atmosphere.

Having thus ully explained our new piocess, we refer to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a vertical side View of the apparatus, parts of the s'earator being broken away. In this view ut one separator is gas under pressure of one shown. Fig. 2 is a plan view ofa duplex IOCl 'separator w iich may be used.

From the well a they uptakeb rises tothe separatore, The iinal dischargeipe from the separator leads to the desire lace and level oidelivery. The air is carrie from the arator' through tlie air-pipe g to the inlet-- va ves 2 3 ofthe compressor. vThe compressor IOS is only illustrated in diagram, since itsldetails are to a larve extent familiar matters of 'engineering'. The piston is indicated at 6. The air as itt-is compressed passes to the delivery-chamber f, and thence through airpipe d', reservoir-tank L to the downtake air-pipe d, to the bottom of the uptake-pipe b.

vThe system may be simplified by the omission of reservoir-tank 71', whose object is to 1o overcome the slight pulsations of pressure due to the com ressorl.

Preferably t e system is provided with means for introducing additional air under pressure from time to time, because usually the well-water will absorb air; and this coupled with loss due to leakage requires corn-A pensation. Regulators for this purpose and, indeed, for the regulation of tie discharge through pipe e and for the control of the wazo ter-level in the Water-separators may be introduced at will. in the drawings three coo erating rneans of regulation are shown.

. v irs the tanks c are of such a height that columns of Water within them act as hyz 5 drostatic regulators, for if the air-pressure in the tanks is constant a variation of two feet in the height of the Water in the tanks will deter-mine a variation of approximately one pound in the discharge-pipe e, or, in other 3o Words, Will cause more or less water to be delivered throu h the pi e, and thereby tend to preserve the evel in tie separator-tank at a certain standard point. For the better separation of air from Water and to prevent the carrying out of considerable quantities of air in minute bubbles through the pipe e duplex or plural se aratin -chambers c are provided. The' slotte( mouth of the uptake b allows I nearly all the air to rise and es la ic from the 40 Water in the iirst tank. Small ui bles of air, however, entangled in the water are carried into the second tank, where the water is less disturbed bythe dischar e of the air. As the pipe e leads from the ottom of the sor- 0nd tank, very-few, if any, of these smaller bubbles of air are carried out with the wai or, for they rise slowly to the surface in thc socond tank and pass thence through the air connection illustrated to the iirst tank and to 5o the air-pipe g.

A second device for preserving a constant static pressure in the separator-tanks and also regulating the whole system and com ansatin for theloss of air consists in the in ct iiapl va ves and 5 in the compressor and the autornatic regulatin A 4lugs or valves 7 which are controlib and adjusted by means of the cylinder 9 and regulating spring-piston "10, which receives pressure lfrom the )ara- 6e for c through the small hole shown. hen the pressure falls below the standard for Whc the the valve 8 toward the right and the valve 7 toward the left, allowing more air'to be drawn in from the atmosphere to the cylinder of the and 8,

regulator is set,the spring draws -reac ies them at the end of its stroke after it has covered the inlet-valves 2 or 3. Therefore when'the piston again begins to move toward its central position and away from the end of the cylinder it can draw in air through the valve 4 or 5 before uncovering the valve 2 or 3, respectively. Some such 75 provision as this is necessary, because the. pressure beneath the valves 2 and 3 is greater than the atmospheric pressure beneath the valves 4 and 5.

, A third means for regulatin the system consists in auxiliary air-pump the actuating-valve 12 of which is controlled by the pressure-regulator 13. When the pressure in the tank c is below the normal or desired standard, valve 12 is opened and lvthe air- 85 pump 7c operates continuously, forcing .air

from the atmosphere into the system until the normal pressure is reached and the valve 12 thereby closed.

In order to illustrate thc operation 0f the system and to explain our process by a concrete example, we may suppose that 1t is nocessary to raise water one hundred feet above the level in ibiseparuting-tank and that the level in ilul wvl! u. is fifty feet below the level in the tank c, Also let the mouth of the downtukc air-pi e (Z be about two hundred and twenty i'eet below water-level in the well c. The automatic, regulators may then be set to preserve an air-pressure of somewhat roc less than fifty pounds to the square inch in the tank c. Before any water is allowed to escape from the discharge-pi )e e it will be seen that the compressor will compress ail' into the tank huntil somewhat above one hundred pounds pressure is obtained, and thereupon the air willA begin discharging through the downtako d. As soon as thc water begins to rise in the separator-tank c 4and the air-pressure therein prodlmed by the 1 xo air-compressor r and the air separating from the Water approaches iiity pounds the water may be forced through the pipe e to a height one hundred feet above the level in the tank c. As the )ressurc rises in the tank t the aur 15 tomatic Valve 12 closes and the operation is established. -The height of the separatorta-nk c need not hc more than about ten feet in order to act as a hydrostatic regulator for the discharge ci the water under a hundred- 12o foot head through thc )1pc e.

The process described herein forms the subject-matter 0f a separate claim by a, divisional application.

Having now full explained the nature of 12 5 our invention and illustrated it, we claim by this application and desire to secure the foiloWin characteristic features:

1. n combination, an air-compressing mechanism `an uptake for liquid, a downtake 1 3o 'lair-pipe .conveying air from the compressor l to the said uptake, a pressure-supporting se aratirig-chamber into which the said upta e prasses, a Water discharge passage leading om the separati'ngchamber and discharging against a static or dynamic resistance, an

airipe leading frorrithesaidchamber to the fsai compressing mechanism, and means controlled by the static pressure of the liquid in said chamber for introducing additional air into, the system.

2. In combination, an air compressing mechanism, anuptake forli uid, a downtake air-pipe conveying air from t `e compressor to 15 the said uptake, a separating-chamber into which the said uptake passes, a water-discharge passage leading` from the separatingchamber, an air-pipe leading from the said chamber to the said compressing mechanism,

and means formaint'aining constant orvsubstantially constant pressure greater'th'an that oi'jtlie external atmosphere in the said sepa.- rating-chamber. 'Y

3. In combination. with an uptake for liquid, means for introducing air under pressure into'thecolumn of liquid'in such uptake and .a plurality of air-tight communicating sepa'- rating-'tanks into which the liquid is intro- I at Cincinnati, Ohio;

:duced .from the uptake, the said uptake deL livering to one of the said tanks and a discharge-pipe delivering from another of theV said tanks, for the purposes set forth;

4.111 combination, an aircompressing I mechanism, an uptakejfor. liquids, a dQWna'n air-pipe leading from the said separatingff chamber to the said compressing mechanism, and means for` maintaining asubsta'ntially pressure in said separatingfchaine` constant ber.

Y .Signed this 18th day of Novei'nber, 191 ,.V

at New York. i

; GEORGE R. YOUNG. Witnesses:

WM. R. Boron, -HENRY S; Mon'roN.

Signed'this 14th dayof November, 1901,'

CLIFFORD SHAW.

Witnesses E. DMINNING W. F. NORTH. Y 

